Saturday, August 17, 2002

How To Use Your Pipeline Magazine: A Primer

Last fall, in response to this call for clarification about the ins and outs of Pipeline Magazine, we brought you How to Use Your Pipeline Magazine: A Primer, an article that outlined Pipeline from cover to cover. In order to make sure that all newcomers get the same great information, we?ve decided to rework this article in our special August issue!

Pipeline Magazine comprises 24 pages and has two basic components: program listings and articles. The program listings make up about two-thirds of the magazine and the articles make up the rest. Pipeline is a monthly magazine and goes to every public school in Georgia.* Each magazine contains program listings (similar to TV Guide) for all of the programming being aired on PeachStar channels 410, 420, and 430 for that month and the first two weeks of the following month! This allows teachers and media specialists to plan well in advance to record programs that they would like to use in the classroom. The articles in Pipeline share information about special opportunities for educators in Georgia ranging from professional development to tips on infusing technology into classroom instruction. In addition to the magazine itself, each month we send every school one copy each of two posters (one for channel 410 and one for channel 420) that list all of the programming to be aired for K-12 students in the coming months.

The Listings

As mentioned above, the purpose of the listings is to share with teachers and media specialists the complete program lineup on all three of PeachStar's satellite channels for each month. The listings contain the following key information teachers and media specialists need to know when selecting a program for classroom use:

Usually satellite equipment is housed in the media center and it is the responsibility of the media specialist to record programming to be used by teachers in the classroom. Likewise Pipeline Magazine goes to the media specialist each month to be distributed to the teachers in the school. The broadcast information in the listings section of Pipeline is most important for the media specialist as the person responsible for tuning the satellite and recording the programming. The program information, however, can be very helpful for teachers in selecting which programming they would like the media specialist to record. Teachers: be sure to ask your media specialist about PeachStar programming and work with him or her to gather the video resources you need for classroom use.

The first page of the program listings in every issue of Pipeline is an instructions page designed to help new Pipeline readers to navigate the program information and find what they need; in every issue, the instructions page is located on page 5. Look for a newly redesigned instructions page in your September issue of Pipeline. This page will stay the same from month to month and offer readers an overview of the layout and terminology of the listings. Be sure to read this page carefully for a detailed explanation of how to read your program listings.The Articles

Each month, Pipeline shares with Georgia educators news about the world of education in Georgia. This news can come in many forms. We often share information about exciting new partnerships PeachStar and Georgia Public Broadcasting are forging with other community and state organizations to offer Georgia students and teachers more and better educational resources. Other times articles may address timely issues in public education such as standardized testing or the Code of Ethics for Educators. You can always count on Pipeline articles to give you the most up-to-date information about special programs and services PeachStar is offering students and teachers such as video streaming, the Educator-In-Residence program, and special professional development opportunities. In addition to offering information about programming offered over PeachStar, Pipeline will often feature special programs airing on Georgia Public Television (Channel 400) that we feel are relevant to the needs of Georgia classrooms. Be sure to read the articles in each month's Pipeline to find out more about what PeachStar is doing for educators like you and to learn how you can become involved.

The Poster

As a special supplement to Pipeline Magazine, every other month we send every school two posters containing the complete broadcast schedules for Channels 410 and 420 for a two month period of time. The posters are arranged according to channel and are double-sided by month so that the January Channel 410 schedule will be on one side and the February Channel 410 schedule will be on the reverse; the same goes for the Channel 420 poster. We send one copy of each poster per school with the hope that the media specialist will hang the poster in the media center so that everyone can access it.

The poster contains the same broadcast information as the program listings in the magazine, only it is arranged chronologically so that teachers and media specialists can easily see what will be airing on any given day. This is a good ready-reference for media specialists to use when planning for recording program requests from teachers. The background of the poster now matches the cover of the corresponding issue of Pipeline Magazine.

Suggestions

As with any PeachStar service, we welcome your suggestions about how Pipeline Magazine could better serve you as an educator. Please send all comments about format and content to Amy Turner at aturner@gpb.org or call directly at (404) 685-2406. This magazine is for Georgia educators; we want to know if there is a better way for us to get you the information you require to work more effectively in the classroom. Help us to serve you better by letting us know what you need!